The Little Sheep
by lightning027
Summary: Happy Birthday Near! A NearxOC oneshot in honor of his birthday.  Very fluffy.  Sandy has never seen Near celebrate his birthday and decides to give him a present.  How will he react?


**(A/N –** Hello! Today, in honor of Near's birthday, I have a oneshot! Although I'm not a big Near fan (hate the little bugger) it doesn't mean I can't write him a oneshot! It's NearxOC, and very fluffy, so if you don't like those things, you might want to leave.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. If I did, Near would have died like everyone else.

I do not own the OC, Sandy. She belongs to sonicmaster98 of Quizilla.)

The Little Sheep

Sandy leaned on the doorframe, deep in thought. She wanted to . . . but what would the others think? Is there a reason why it had never been done before?

Sandy shook her head, trying to rid herself of these negative thoughts. _Let's review the facts once more,_ she thought.

She had been living at Wammy's for two years now, and they were decent times, considering she had lost her family and had been sent to the place. No, she had enjoyed Wammy's for the most part. The tests were hard and the kids never trusted anyone, but there was a certain family aspect that made Wammy's decent.

She had turned thirteen this year, and her friends had thrown her a little party. They had stolen a cupcake from the kitchen, bought some contraband matches and candles from Mello, and had a little celebration with presents and games and such. When she had turned twelve she hadn't really known anyone, but she still got a few presents from acquaintances, and even a note from L wishing her a "productive year".

But not once had she seen Near celebrate his birthday.

She knew his birthday, of course, August 24th. She had taken it upon herself to learn the birthday of every Wammy kid she encountered. And that included the little white haired genius.

His birthday was about two months after hers, and she had never seen him celebrate it. No one ever gave him any gifts, or wished him a happy birthday in passing. Not even Linda, who had introduced Sandy to Near in the first place. Sandy wasn't sure if it was because of Near's introverted nature, or because Mello hated the kid's guts and the Wammy kids thought they would get beat up if they showed interest in Near.

But Sandy liked Near, and thought it was sad that he had never received a present on his birthday. Which is how she got into her current situation.

While Sandy was reviewing this last piece of information, her cheeks turned a shade that Crayola dubbed "tickle me pink". She was leaving out a bit of information that she knew was true, but didn't really want to accept.

_The world is full of things you might not want to accept. But you must learn to accept these things in order to become stronger,_ Sandy thought. She sighed.

She didn't just "like" Near, as she had found out in the past five months. Oh no, her feelings were a bit more intense.

When Linda had introduced them, Sandy had been a bit shy, barely looking at Near as she mumbled "hello". He hadn't even looked up from his puzzle as he replied. Sandy had been disappointed in herself for not being more outgoing. Maybe he could have been her friend.

Her disappointment in their encounter had led her to run into Near everywhere. She would always pass the large playroom that Near stayed in as she ran out to recess. She had found herself becoming more and more interesting in what he was doing that was so important he wouldn't even come outside.

So she would take one of her books into the large room and read. Sometimes she would actually read, others she would pretend to and just watch Near put together a puzzle or create a Lego castle. She had become so obsessed with this activity even _she_ would skip recess and stay in that room with Near, both quietly participating in their separate activities. She had never acknowledged him, and he had never spoken to her. That's just the way it was.

But she had developed a deep attachment to Near, and wanted to give him a birthday present.

Which sounded very idiotic, now that she thought about it. He probably wouldn't even like her gift, it _was_ a bit girly . . . but she had made it herself! Sandy took a deep breath and decided that she would just do it. The worst that could happen was that he wouldn't like it.

No, actually the worst that could happen would be that he would deduce from the present and all the time that they had spent together that she liked him, reject her and the gift, and Mello would notice what had happened and humiliate her in front of the entire orphanage. But that wouldn't happen . . . right?

Sandy shook her head and decided that it didn't matter. She was going to take that chance. She walked into the empty playroom to see Near working on his blank puzzle, twirling a strand of hair with his free hand.

_Aww!_

Sandy blushed and mentally slapped herself for thinking that. She walked over to the younger boy and sat down next to him. She waited for him to acknowledge her, but he just continued to piece together the puzzle as if nothing had happened.

"Near?" Sandy called. She flinched, her voice sounding very loud in the silence of the room.

Near looked at her, for the first time ever, she realized. She gulped and moved a strand of brown hair out of her face.

"Happy Birthday," she almost whispered, handing Near the white box tied with a ribbon of the same color.

Near took it, and stared blankly at it for a few seconds, hand twirling hair furiously. He then proceeded to untie the ribbon and open the box. Sandy felt butterflies in her stomach as he lifted her present out of the box.

It was a little stuffed sheep that Sandy had made herself. It had taken her about a month to perfect the stitching and get the facial features on it exactly right. She had put a lot of love into her present, even though she still had no clue what possessed her to give Near a stuffed animal.

He stared at the little toy hanging limply in his hand, and removed his other hand from his hair to pet the fluffy "wool" of its back. Sandy bit her lip, waiting for Near to say something.

"Why did you give me this?" he asked. Sandy was stung by the harshness of the words being spoken in his monotone voice. She was ashamed of herself for being so foolish as to think Near would like her gift.

"I thought . . . I don't know," she responded, looking away from him, afraid that she might cry. _Why would I cry? That makes absolutely no sense, all he did was ask a question!_ She reasoned with herself. Sandy's cheeks were a bright red by now, her face felt unnaturally hot.

"Thank you," Near said. And then he did something very unlike himself. He reached over and hugged Sandy, the little sheep still held in his hands. Sandy was very shocked, in all her time at Wammy's she had never seen Near touch anyone, let alone _hug_ them.

She wrapped her arms around him, letting herself wind a hand around his neck and another around his waist. He was so warm and he smelled so good . . .

"Thank you," Sandy mumbled. She didn't know if she said it because he had accepted her gift, if it was because he hugged her, or if she was just thankful he was there.

Near kissed her on the cheek, for 2.4 seconds, to be exact. Then he looked away as if nothing had happened and continued to work on his puzzle, sheep in hand and a light pink dusting his cheeks.

Sandy smiled and moved closer to Near, helping him with his puzzle, although it wasn't like he needed it.

And although he was teased by Mello and his friends, although people looked at him strangely, although it made Roger and L wonder about his abilities and intelligence, Near never put that sheep down.


End file.
